- - the envelope comp operates in three modes:
- Sync - The envelope is triggered by every Note On received, any currently running envelope is stopped.
- Legato - The envelope is triggered by a Note On received, as long as the envelope is not currently running. If Trigger Notes overlap, the envelope continues, it does not restart and ends when all Trigger Notes are Off.
- Run - the envelope runs freely, not waiting for a Trigger Note
- in all cases the envelope starts from the Start Loop position, if there is one, or from the start, and ends at the End Loop position, if there is one, or at the end.
- - the Envelope outputs MIDI CC data on MIDI Channel 01, so a MIDI Chs component may be needed to change channels.
Setting the Parameters
to set the Mode - select Sync, Legato or Run from the drop-down list
to set the CC number - drag the CC value up or down (defaults to 74)
the transmitted CC values can be scaled, to set the range of values to be sent
to set the minimum CC value - drag the Min value up or down
to set the maximum CC value - drag the Max value up or down
to set the intervals (frequency) of the CC events - select the Snap value in the drop-down list
to set the envelope length - drags the Beats value up or down
Drawing the Envelope
to scroll horizontally - drag the scroll bar
to Zoom in/out horizontally - drag the envelope Resizer (a square icon) in the lower right-hand corner to the right/left
- - Six preset graphs are available and each one may be run at double speed (half the time) or half speed (double the time).
to select a preset graph or speed - Edit, then select the desired preset
- - Once selected the points on the graph may be edited.
to remove all the points from the graph - Edit >> Clear
to add a new point - double-click at the desired position in the grid
to delete a point - right-click the point
to move a point - drag it
- - You can drag any point to the right, subsequent points will move too, maintaining their relative positions, to avoid the envelope going backwards
- - You can drag any point to the left but not in front of the preceding point, subsequent points will move too, maintaining their relative positions, to avoid a gap in the envelope
- - You can set up a loop in the envelope, defining the Start and End positions on the graph (indicated by L and R markers).
to set the loop start position - click in the bar above the graph
to set the loop end position - right-click in the bar above the graph
to remove the loop - click on the R marker, or right-click on the L marker
- - Envelopes always run to completion, so if the loop length is 3 beats and the Trigger Note is 4 beats, the envelope starts again, so if effectively 6 beats long)
Managing Envelopes
- - you can save an envelope into a nominated folder.
- - you can then load it back into the Sequencer or into an Envelope comp
to select the Envelope Parts preset folder - File >> Folder, browse to the desired folder, select it, OK
- - if this folder is set to a high-level folder (for example, C:\, then there may be a delay when you right-click in the Sequencer, as eXT will be scanning the folder to build a list of presets files
to load a Envelope preset - File >> Open, browse to the desired folder, if needed, select the desired envelope preset from the list
or drag the preset from the eXT browser (or Windows Explorer window) onto a Sequencer Envelope track
to save the currently-selected envelope - File >> Save, browse to the desired folder, enter file name or select file to overwrite, OK
to create a new Envelope Parts folder - File >> Folder, browse to the desired parent folder, right-click in the folder tree pane (the left-hand pane), select Create Folder, enter new folder name, OK
Envelope Tips
Syncing the Envelope to a Bar
- based on an idea from DarkStar, November 2005
This can be done by arranging for a MIDI source to trigger the Envelope at the appropriate time.
These are the setup steps:
- create a MIDI source for the trigger notes, say a 1 bar loop with a trigger on beat 1,
- route this to the Envelope comp, set up the Envelope as desired,
- route the Envelope to a MIDI Patcher,
- set the velocity range in the MIDI Patcher to filter out the trigger notes (for example v.low=0 and v.up=1),
- route the MIDI Patcher to the VSTi,
- in the VSTi, CC Map the incoming MIDI CC to the VST parameter to be automated (Filter cutoff, perhaps),
- route your song's MIDI Part to the VSTi too,
Now all you have to do is start the trigger MIDI and the song's MIDI at the same time